Making MIDI Connections with the AUDIO4c
Making MIDI Connections with the AUDIO4c
AUDIO4c - More than just an audio interface!
Take a look at most compact Audio interfaces out there and you’ll soon get the feeling that MIDI connectivity is a bit of an after-thought. However, if you spin an AUDIO4c around and take a look at the back panel, you’ll soon learn a different story!
Masses of MIDI
When we designed the AUDIO4c, we did more than just focus on giving loads of analog audio connectivity. We also threw in our famous MIDI technology; the same kind of MIDI tech you’ll find in our flagship mioXL.
You might be surprised to learn though that you can plug in a total of nine MIDI devices into your AUDIO4c. You might be looking at your AUDIO4c and declaring, “but there’s only one DIN-MIDI port and USB port, how can that be the case?”.
Don’t worry, you haven’t gone mad, we’ll explain…
Unlocking the USB-MIDI Host Port
Spin your AUDIO4c round and look on the back panel; you’ll spot a familiar-looking USB-A connector. At first, you might think this is a regular USB host port, as you’d find on your computer. It is, however, quite a bit more specialised than that…
Let’s clear something up from the start, this is not a USB host port. This patented port is a USB-MIDI host port. It’s designed specifically for the connection of USB-MIDI class-compliant devices.
What does class-compliant mean?
Like all standards and protocols, the MIDI protocol has a specific definition of what is and isn’t MIDI data. Like all forms of class compliance, this is to ensure that devices act as “plug and play” and don’t need any additional drivers to work.
As such, you can plug any class-compliant MIDI device into our USB-MIDI host port and will work perfectly. By the same token, if your device isn’t class-compliant, some of the features of your device may not work.
If you’re unsure of if your device is class-compliant, then check with your product’s manufacturer. Alternatively, we have a user-complied list of devices that have proven to work with our USB-MIDI host port
Using a USB hub with the USB-MIDI host port
OK, so now we know that the USB-MIDI host port works with class-compliant devices, how do we connect more than one at a time? Well, the answer is to use a USB hub; we recommend using a good quality powered USB hub.
Our USB-MIDI host port will provide up to 500mA to a single device, but if you’re connecting multiple bus-powered devices, then they’ll need a bit more juice! That’s why we recommend using a powered USB hub.
Once you’ve got your hub, connecting up your devices is simple. You can connect up to eight USB-MIDI peripherals to the USB-MIDI host port. Simply plug your hub into the host port, and then connect your USB-MIDI devices.
Voila! 8 USB-MIDI peripherals connected through just one socket!
Port Reservation
There’s an important bit of housekeeping to do once you’ve got your devices connected. That’s called “port reservation” and is essential if you’re planning on using Auracle X’s MIDI processing power on devices you’ll be connecting and disconnecting regularly.
Port reservation does exactly what it says on the tin. It ensures the each connected USB-MIDI device is consistently allocated the same MIDI port every time it’s connected. This is important, as you don’t want routings and processing applied to the wrong device.
Applying port reservations in Auracle is quick and simple using Auracle X. Take a look at the video linked in this blog for a step-by-step guide.
DIN-MIDI Magic!
In the middle of the back panel of your AUDIO4c, you’ll see two, large, round. five-pin connectors. These are your traditional MIDI connections, and one pair of DIN-MIDI connectors counts as a single port of MIDI.
DIN-MIDI was the original connection format when MIDI launched 40 or so years ago and it’s still extremely useful. If you’d like to learn more about DIN-MIDI and MIDI in general, take a look at our blog An Introduction to MIDI Connections
There’s not much to talk about when it comes to physically connecting DIN-MIDI, but there’s one golden rule you have to remember! Connect the OUT of the AUDIO4c to the IN of your DIN-MIDI peripheral, and the OUT of your peripheral to the IN of the AUDIO4c.
Other than that, the same MIDI processing power offered over USB-MIDI can be found over the DIN-MIDI connection too!
There’s More to MIDI
It’s beyond the scope of this blog, but it’s worth briefly mentioning where all the data from these MIDI ports end up. Our multi-host connectivity means you can connect two computing devices, via the two USB-C ports, simultaneously.
That means that you can route the MIDI data from any connected MIDI device between connected MIDI devices and also between two connected computing devices.
Of course, making the most of the AUDIO4c’s MIDI power means understanding our control software, Auracle X. We’ll be following up on that one soon, but just remember that it’s possible to route any MIDI device to any other MIDI device or computing device.
Hopefully, this blog has given you a basic understanding of the physical MIDI connections, and MIDI connectivity offered with your AUDIO4c. Here’s our friend Will Doggett walking you through all the MIDI connections on offer with your AUDIO4c.